Through Brandywine Valley SPCA, hundreds of hurricane rescue animals taken in this year

Dogs and cats displaced by Hurricane Florence in North Carolina arrived at the Brandywine Valley SPCA shelter in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018.
Jenna Miller, Salisbury Daily Times

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Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence.(Photo: Staff Photo by Jenna Miller, )Buy Photo

Hundreds of animals relocated to Delaware in the wake of this year's major hurricanes and many have found their way to forever homes.

After Hurricane Florence made landfall Sept. 14 as a Category 1 storm, battering the Carolinas, the Brandywine Valley SPCA partnered with the Best Friends Animal Network to relocate adoptable animals from affected areas to relieve the burden on local shelters.

The Brandywine Valley SPCA's Rescue & Rehab Center, which wasn't slated to open until 2019, was dubbed the "hurricane hub," where the first group of dogs were welcomed Sept. 18 that were from a shelter in Cumberland County, North Carolina, that had been threatened by flooding.

That day the facility took in 107 adoptable animals that were then evaluated, vaccinated and cared for until they were put up for adoption either through the Brandywine Valley SPCA or another shelter in the Best Friends Animal Network, and several more animals arrived in Georgetown over the next couple of weeks for a grand total of 239.

When Hurricane Michael struck the Florida coast Oct. 10, the hurricane hub reopened through a partnership with the Jacksonville Humane Society. In the week following the Category 4 hurricane, the Brandywine Valley SPCA accepted 100 cats and kittens.

As of Dec. 19, Brandywine Valley SPCA Marketing Director Linda Torelli said of those animals rescued after Hurricanes Florence and Michael, just three cats are still in the rescue's care.

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Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

Shelter dogs from North Carolina arrive at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in Georgetown on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2018. The shelter is serving as an emergency hub for animals displaced by Hurricane Florence. Staff Photo by Jenna Miller,

"These are animals in shelters before the storms that needed to be moved out either due to storm damage in the local shelters or to make room for displaced family pets to enter the shelters to hopefully be reclaimed," she said. "We accepted many of these animals into our shelters, and others moved from our hurricane hub to other shelters in the northeast."

The Brandywine Valley SPCA purchased the Rescue & Rehab Center property in June, closing on the sale just days before the first displaced animals arrived. It's meant to serve the region's most vulnerable cats and dogs, including cruelty survivors, disaster victims, newborns and infants.

The 11,500-square-foot facility sits on 13 acres of land on Shingle Point Road in Georgetown. Torelli said the center is now on track for its official 2019 opening, which the SPCA website shows is scheduled for Jan. 2, 2019.

In addition to the $880,000 needed to pay for the full purchase, Brandywine Valley SPCA's website shows fundraising has also been underway to secure approximately $250,000 to repair and restore the building and $250,000 for equipment and furnishings.

While awaiting its grand opening, the center has also been used to house two recently airlifted groups of rescued pets that were at-risk of euthanasia in their local area, but are highly adoptable through the Brandywine Valley SPCA.

It took in 165 mostly small dogs from Phoenix and 80 puppies from two shelters in Mississippi ahead of the Mega Adoption Event in Harrington from Dec. 8-9, when 1,181 dogs and cats were adopted.